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British Parliamentary style is a major form of academic debate that originated in Liverpool in the mid 1800s.^[1] It has gained wide support globally and is the official format of the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC).^[2]

Rules

British Parliamentary debates consist of four teams, containing two speakers each, which are divided into two sides that speak for and against the motion. Due to the style's origins in British parliamentary procedure, the two sides are called the Government and the Opposition. Similarly, sides are known as benches, consisting of two teams - an opening team and a closing team. Teams compete against all three other teams in the round, including against its own opening or closing team, which it is not expected to help. The order of speeches alternates between the two benches, starting with the first government speaker, until all eight participants have spoken. Speeches are usually either five (secondary school level) or seven (university level) minutes in duration.

Prime Minister/Leader of the Opposition

The first speaker from each bench is known as the PM/LO. They are responsible for defining the key terminologies, explaining the background or status quo and establishing the characterisation of the motion under which the debate will take place, along with forwarding arguments and their importance for their own teams (Opening Government or Opening Opposition).

Deputy speeches

The second speaker from each bench is known as the Deputy. Deputies may add new arguments to their team's substantive argument, but their primary responsibilities are to consolidate and rebuild the existing case, to launch challenges to the opposing bench, and to add additional weighing to their arguments to preemptively frame them against any extensions/new arguments from closing.

Member/Extension speeches

The third speaker from each bench (i.e., the first speaker for the closing sides), is known as the Member. Member speeches cannot contradict what has been said by their opening sides (i.e., knifing), unless the opening teams have conceded the debate or misinterpreted the motion. The primary duty of Members is to differentiate their side from their opening, by running either a clear vertical extension, flagging what parts of it are exclusively new, and be analytical for the actualisation of the arguments' benefits, or a horizontal extension and weighing it directly against other arguments in the round. They can also provide some brief response to the opening half of the debate as a whole, but this is not their primary goal.

Whip speeches

The final speaker from each bench is known as the Whip. The primary duty of whip speakers is to note the major disagreement (point of clash) in the debate, and summarise, frame, and weigh the arguments presented in the debate and show that their team (Closing Government or Closing Opposition) wins the debate. Whip speakers can still provide new materials which are based on the arguments made by previous speakers in their own bench (still considered as extension), however, Whip speakers cannot make new arguments which are irrelevant to arguments made in previous speeches.

Points of Information

Speakers in the BP format can offer Points of Information (POIs) to opposing teams. To offer a POI during another speaker's speech, a debater may stand, say something such as "Point" or "Point of Information", and wait to be called on. The speaker may accept, reject, or ignore the POI. If they accept, the individual who offered the POI may state an argument, a rebuttal, or ask a question to the speaker for up to 15 seconds or until interrupted by the speaker.^[3] Speakers may reject POIs with a physical cue (e.g. waving one's hand) or a verbal indication of rejection.

Speakers are granted "protected time", during which no points of information may be offered. Most commonly, this is the first and last minute of a speech.

Only speakers from the opposing bench may offer POIs to the current speaker. Speakers on the same side of the motion cannot do so even if they are from different teams (e.g. Opening and Closing Government may offer POIs to Opening Opposition, but Closing Opposition cannot).

Competitions in BP Style

The debating season closely follows the academic year in Northern Hemisphere countries. The first competitions are in Britain and Ireland in October and November, traditionally commenced by the Edinburgh Cup^[4] in the first week of October, followed by the Cambridge and Oxford Inter-varsities (IVs), all the way up to the World Championships held over the Christmas holidays. After the "Worlds", the Trinity IV in Dublin, the premier tournament in Ireland, recommences the season in the new year. The season continues with a large number of Islands of the North Atlantic (IONA) and European competitions from March to June, including the HWS Round Robin normally held in early April. The European Championship, or Euros were initially held over the Easter break, but is now held over the summer, normally in July or August and concludes the European debating season.^{[citation needed]}

The world championships, as well as many other tournaments, require team members to be registered students of a university or another tertiary-level institution. However, "open" tournaments also exist that allow non-students and composite teams to compete.

References

^ Haapala, Taru. "Debating Societies, the Art of Rhetoric and the British House of Commons: Parliamentary Culture of Debate before and after the 1832 Reform Act". Res Publica: Revista de Filosofía Política. 27: 26.
^ "Training Resources". World Universities Debating Championship. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
^ "Introduction - Points of information - Debating in schools". www.educationscotland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
^ "Edinburgh University Debates Union". www.edinburghdebatesunion.com. Retrieved 27 May 2017.

External links

An introductory Guide to BP Debating by Alex Deane.
Competitive Debating by Dan Neidle
British Debate
World Debate Website
The Judges British Parliamentary Debating est.1999 - An extensive array of unconventional tutorials that focus on the alternative and fun aspects of debate.

[1] Haapala, Taru. "Debating Societies, the Art of Rhetoric and the British House of Commons: Parliamentary Culture of Debate before and after the 1832 Reform Act". Res Publica: Revista de Filosofía Política. 27: 26.

[2] "Training Resources". World Universities Debating Championship. Retrieved 26 September 2024.

[3] "Introduction - Points of information - Debating in schools". www.educationscotland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

[4] "Edinburgh University Debates Union". www.edinburghdebatesunion.com. Retrieved 27 May 2017.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Style of competitive debate}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
-[[File:British Parliamentary style debate, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine.JPG|thumb|Debating in [[Khmelnytskyi]], [[Ukraine]]. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is speaking.]]
+{{More citations needed|date=March 2016}}[[File:British Parliamentary style debate, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine.JPG|thumb|Debating in [[Khmelnytskyi]], [[Ukraine]]. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is speaking.]]
-'''British Parliamentary style''' debate is a major form of academic [[debate]] that originated in [[Liverpool]] in the mid 1800s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Haapala|first=Taru|title=Debating Societies, the Art of Rhetoric and the British House of Commons: Parliamentary Culture of Debate before and after the 1832 Reform Act|url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/RPUB/article/download/47860/44780/0|journal=Res Publica: Revista de Filosofía Política|volume=27|pages=26}}</ref> It has gained wide support across countries in [[Europe]], [[Africa]], [[Asia]], [[Oceania]], and [[North America|North]] and [[South America]]. It is the official style of the [[World Universities Debating Championship]] (WUDC); of regional and national major tournaments such as the [[Pan African Universities Debate Championship]] (PAUDC), [[All Nigerian Universities Debate Championship]] (ANUDC), [[Zimbabwe Debate Championship]] (ZiDC), [[Asian British Parliamentary]] (ABP) debating championship, Lagos Debate Open (LDO) and [[European Universities Debating Championship]] (EUDC); as well as of non-English language tournaments such as the [[World Universities Debating Championship in Spanish]] and [[World Debating Championship in Portuguese Language]]. Speeches are usually five to seven minutes in duration.
+'''British Parliamentary style''' is a major form of academic [[debate]] that originated in [[Liverpool]] in the mid 1800s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Haapala|first=Taru|title=Debating Societies, the Art of Rhetoric and the British House of Commons: Parliamentary Culture of Debate before and after the 1832 Reform Act|url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/RPUB/article/download/47860/44780/0|journal=Res Publica: Revista de Filosofía Política|volume=27|pages=26}}</ref> It has gained wide support globally and is the official format of the [[World Universities Debating Championship]] (WUDC).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Training Resources |url=https://www.worlddebating.org/training-resources |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=World Universities Debating Championship |language=en-US}}</ref>
-==Terminology==
+==Rules==
+British Parliamentary debates consist of four teams, containing two speakers each, which are divided into two sides that speak for and against the motion. Due to the style's origins in British [[parliamentary procedure]], the two sides are called the ''Government'' and the ''Opposition''. Similarly, sides are known as benches, consisting of two teams - an opening team and a closing team. Teams compete against all three other teams in the round, including against its own opening or closing team, which it is not expected to help. The order of speeches alternates between the two benches, starting with the first government speaker, until all eight participants have spoken. Speeches are usually either five (secondary school level) or seven (university level) minutes in duration.
-Because of the style's origins in British [[parliamentary procedure]], the two sides are called the ''Government'' (more commonly called "Proposition" in the United Kingdom) and ''Opposition''. The speakers are similarly titled:
+=== Prime Minister/Leader of the Opposition ===
-#'''Opening Government''' (''first faction''):
+The first speaker from each bench is known as the ''PM/LO''. They are responsible for defining the key terminologies, explaining the background or status quo and establishing the characterisation of the motion under which the debate will take place, along with forwarding arguments and their importance for their own teams (''Opening Government'' or ''Opening Opposition'').
-##''Prime Minister''
-##''Deputy Prime Minister''
-#'''Opening Opposition''' (''second faction''):
-##''Leader of the Opposition''
-##''Deputy Leader of the Opposition''
-#'''Closing Government''' (''third faction''):
-##''Member of Government''
-##''Government Whip''
-#'''Closing Opposition''' (''fourth faction''):
-##''Member of Opposition''
-##''Opposition Whip''
+=== Deputy speeches ===
-(Although the two teams on the government and opposition bench are on the same side of the motion, they are judged and ranked independently and do not work together. A team competes against all three other teams in the round, including against its own opening or closing team, which it is not expected to help)
+The second speaker from each bench is known as the ''Deputy''. Deputies may add new arguments to their team's substantive argument, but their primary responsibilities are to consolidate and rebuild the existing case, to launch challenges to the opposing bench, and to add additional weighing to their arguments to preemptively frame them against any extensions/new arguments from closing.
+=== Member/Extension speeches ===
-Speaking alternates between the two sides and the order of the debate is therefore:
+The third speaker from each bench (i.e., the first speaker for the closing sides), is known as the ''Member''. Member speeches cannot contradict what has been said by their opening sides (i.e., knifing), unless the opening teams have conceded the debate or misinterpreted the motion. The primary duty of Members is to differentiate their side from their opening, by running either a clear vertical extension, flagging what parts of it are exclusively new, and be analytical for the actualisation of the arguments' benefits, or a horizontal extension and weighing it directly against other arguments in the round. They can also provide some brief response to the opening half of the debate as a whole, but this is not their primary goal.
+=== Whip speeches ===
-#''Prime Minister''
+The final speaker from each bench is known as the ''Whip''. The primary duty of whip speakers is to note the major disagreement (''point of clash'') in the debate, and summarise, [[Framing (social sciences)|frame]], and weigh the arguments presented in the debate and show that their team (''Closing Government'' or ''Closing Opposition'') wins the debate. Whip speakers can still provide new materials which are based on the arguments made by previous speakers in their own bench (still considered as ''extension''), however, Whip speakers cannot make new arguments which are irrelevant to arguments made in previous speeches.
-#''Leader of the Opposition''
-#''Deputy Prime Minister''
-#''Deputy Leader of the Opposition''
-#''Member of Government''
-#''Member of Opposition''
-#''Government Whip''
-#''Opposition Whip''
-==Roles==
-As ''British Parliamentary'' debates take place between four teams their roles are split into two categories, those for the ''Opening'' factions, and those for the ''Closing'' factions.
-===Opening factions===
-The first two teams on each Government and Opposition team are known as part of the ''Top'' ''Half''. Each has four basic roles in a ''British Parliamentary'' debate. They must:
-*Establish clear definitions of terms in the motion that may be variously interpreted.
-*Present their case.
-*Respond to arguments raised by the opposing teams.
-*Maintain their relevance during the debate by asking [[Point of information (competitive debate)|points of information]].
-The Opening Government team has the ''semi-divine right of definition'', preventing the opposition from challenging their definition of the motion unless it is either a [[truism]] or clearly unreasonable.
-===Closing factions===
-The second two teams are known as the ''Bottom Half.'' The roles of the second two factions are to:
-*Introduce a ''case extension'' where a new argument is presented that focuses on an aspect of the debate not touched on by the side's opening faction.
-*Establish and maintain their relevance early in the debate.
-*Respond to the arguments of the first factions.
-*Respond to the case extension of the opposing second faction.
-In addition, the final two speakers of the debate (known as the 'Whips') take a similar role to the third speakers in [[Debate#Australia-Asia debating|Australia-Asian]] debating:
-*The government whip and the opposition whip may '''not''' introduce new arguments for his or her faction.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.debate-motions.info/how-to-debate/179-british-parliamentary-debate-roles-of-the-speakers|title = British parliamentary debate - roles of the speakers|last = User|first = Super|website = www.debate-motions.info|access-date = 2016-03-22|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160314010934/http://www.debate-motions.info/how-to-debate/179-british-parliamentary-debate-roles-of-the-speakers|archive-date = 2016-03-14|url-status = dead}}</ref> This is a relatively new standard that has become the standard at the Worlds University Debating Championship, as well as the European University Debating Championship;
-*They must respond to both opposing factions' arguments;
-*They should briefly sum up their Opening Faction's case;
-*They should offer a conclusion of their own faction's case extension.
-*They should distinguish the arguments that their partner made from the arguments of opening government or opening opposition<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.debate-motions.info/how-to-debate/179-british-parliamentary-debate-roles-of-the-speakers|title = British parliamentary debate - roles of the speakers|last = User|first = Super|website = www.debate-motions.info|access-date = 2016-03-22|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160314010934/http://www.debate-motions.info/how-to-debate/179-british-parliamentary-debate-roles-of-the-speakers|archive-date = 2016-03-14|url-status = dead}}</ref>
 ===Points of Information===
-Speakers in the BP format can and should offer Points of Information (POIs) to opposing teams. To give a POI during another speaker's speech, a debater may stand, say something such as "Point" or "Point of Information", and wait to be called on. The speaker then has the choice to accept or reject the POI; if they accept, they yield the floor for up to 15 seconds, and the debater may offer an argument, make a rebuttal, or ask a question to the speaker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/debatinginschools/gettingstarted/pointsofinformation/pointsofinfo.asp|title=Introduction - Points of information - Debating in schools|website=www.educationscotland.gov.uk|access-date=2016-03-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409133842/http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/debatinginschools/gettingstarted/pointsofinformation/pointsofinfo.asp|archive-date=2016-04-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> POIs are important in British Parliamentary style, as they allow for engagement among all four teams; in particular, they allow opening teams to maintain their relevance as the debate continues, and enable engagement between teams on the "diagonal" (e.g. Opening Government and Closing Opposition) that would otherwise be unable to directly engage with one another.
+Speakers in the BP format can offer Points of Information (POIs) to opposing teams. To offer a POI during another speaker's speech, a debater may stand, say something such as "Point" or "Point of Information", and wait to be called on. The speaker may accept, reject, or ignore the POI. If they accept, the individual who offered the POI may state an argument, a rebuttal, or ask a question to the speaker for up to 15 seconds or until interrupted by the speaker.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction - Points of information - Debating in schools |url=http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/debatinginschools/gettingstarted/pointsofinformation/pointsofinfo.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409133842/http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/debatinginschools/gettingstarted/pointsofinformation/pointsofinfo.asp |archive-date=2016-04-09 |access-date=2016-03-28 |website=www.educationscotland.gov.uk}}</ref> Speakers may reject POIs with a physical cue (e.g. waving one's hand) or a verbal indication of rejection.
-The first and last minute of each speech is considered "protected time", during which no [[point of information (competitive debate)|points of information]] may be offered. Only speakers from the opposing bench may offer POIs to the current speaker; speakers on the same side of the motion cannot, even if they are from different teams (e.g. Opening and Closing Government may offer POIs to Opening Opposition, but Closing Opposition cannot do this).
+Speakers are granted "protected time", during which no [[point of information (competitive debate)|points of information]] may be offered. Most commonly, this is the first and last minute of a speech.
+Only speakers from the opposing bench may offer POIs to the current speaker. Speakers on the same side of the motion cannot do so even if they are from different teams (e.g. Opening and Closing Government may offer POIs to Opening Opposition, but Closing Opposition cannot).
-==Variations==
-Depending on the country, there are variations in speaking time, speaking order, whether proposition whip can introduce new points, and the number of speakers.  In addition to specific rules, etiquette varies by region.  For instance, in some tournaments it is considered bad form for the first team on either side to try to cover as many topics as possible to leave the closing team with nothing (a practice known as "scorching the earth" or "burning the turf"), while in other tournaments it is strongly encouraged.
 ==Competitions in BP Style==
-The debating season closely follows the academic year in Northern Hemisphere English speaking countries. The first competitions are in Britain and Ireland in October & November, traditionally commenced by the [[Edinburgh University|Edinburgh]] Cup<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.edinburghdebatesunion.com/|title=Edinburgh University Debates Union|website=www.edinburghdebatesunion.com|access-date=2017-05-27}}</ref> in the first week of October building up to World Championships held over the Christmas holidays. After "Worlds" the [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]] and [[Oxford University|Oxford]] IVs are considered the most prestigious. In the New Year the [[Trinity College, Dublin|Trinity]] IV in Dublin, the premier tournament in Ireland, recommences the season. The season continues with a large number of IONA and European competitions in March and April. During May and June, the period annual examinations in many universities a small number of open competitions are held in preparation for the [[European Universities Debating Championships|European Championship]]. "Euros" was initially held over the Easter break, but is now held over the summer, normally in August and concludes the European debating season.
+The debating season closely follows the academic year in Northern Hemisphere countries. The first competitions are in Britain and Ireland in October and November, traditionally commenced by the [[Edinburgh University|Edinburgh]] Cup<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.edinburghdebatesunion.com/|title=Edinburgh University Debates Union|website=www.edinburghdebatesunion.com|access-date=2017-05-27}}</ref> in the first week of October, followed by the [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]] and [[Oxford University|Oxford]] Inter-varsities (IVs), all the way up to the World Championships held over the Christmas holidays. After the "Worlds", the [[Trinity College, Dublin|Trinity]] IV in Dublin, the premier tournament in Ireland, recommences the season in the new year. The season continues with a large number of Islands of the North Atlantic (IONA) and European competitions from March to June, including the [[HWS Round Robin]] normally held in early April. The European Championship, or Euros were initially held over the Easter break, but is now held over the summer, normally in July or August and concludes the European debating season.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}
-The International Mace final is held in April. It is contested by the winners of the [[John Smith Memorial Mace|national Mace competitions]] in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The finalists are informed before about the motion. The [[John Smith Memorial Mace|national mace competitions]] are run throughout the academic year in a series of knockout rounds in Scotland and Ireland. In England and Wales they are held over the course of two days.
 The [[World Universities Debating Championships|world championships]], as well as many other tournaments, require team members to be registered students of a university or another tertiary-level institution. However, "open" tournaments also exist that allow non-students and composite teams to compete.
@@ Line 81: / Line 36: @@
 ==External links==
-{{More citations needed|date=March 2016}}
 *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070129054121/http://www.britishdebate.com/universities/resources/guide_deane.pdf ''An introductory Guide to BP Debating''] by Alex Deane.
-*[https://archive.is/20070710071602/http://www.britishdebate.com/universities/resources/neidle.asp ''Competitive Debating'']  by Dan Neidle
+*[https://archive.today/20070710071602/http://www.britishdebate.com/universities/resources/neidle.asp ''Competitive Debating'']  by [[Dan Neidle]]
 *[https://web.archive.org/web/20170424232521/http://britishdebate.com/ British Debate]
 *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120424202856/http://flynn.debating.net/ World Debate Website]